


occurrence

by h0lyheck



Series: get a kick out of it [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Fluff, M/M, Mentioned Huang Ren Jun, Mentioned Yoon Jisung, Minor Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Realization of Feelings, best friends chenle and jisung, don’t let the series ward you off haha, not an explicit confession but it's totally there, not that much but they do exist I swear, you can read this as a stand-alone!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 03:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14323731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h0lyheck/pseuds/h0lyheck
Summary: Jeno has always preferred to watch from the sidelines, but he admires Jaemin's love for the opposite.





	occurrence

**Author's Note:**

> one day I'll write one of these things and not knock it out in one sitting lmao  
> welcome back if you've read the other fics in this series, and welcome in if this is your first! reading the others isn't necessary to understand this one, as the focus is different, but you may notice some parallels between them if you check them all out!  
> do enjoy and let me know what you think, and I apologize if this doesn't line up with the common fanon characterization!  
> (un-proofed)

Jeno has always been one to observe rather than experience. It’s mere preference, really; he could certainly join in if he so chose, but he’s always found it more fascinating to be comfortably detached. If one spends their entire life in the thick of things, he thinks, they’ll never see the bigger picture.

It is within this mindset that he finds a disparity between himself and a boy named Na Jaemin, who seems to be his polar opposite. While Jeno is meticulous and collected, Jaemin blasts through life with all the power and freedom of a hurricane. It’s a strange sort of beauty, Jaemin’s joyful chaos. Jeno would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit jealous of the boy’s reckless abandon. That said, it doesn’t affect him enough to instigate a change.

Jeno finds himself watching Jaemin out of the corner of his eye whenever the two occupy the same space. They’ve grown up together, though they have never been close. He’s seen Jaemin grow from a boy who always offered the primary school crossing guard a piece of mint gum to a boy who’s already conjuring up a dozen pick-me-ups the second he sees someone looking downcast. Through it all, he’s kept his smile. Jeno’s favorite thing about Jaemin is his smile.

One day, however, as the bitter chill of winter begins to melt into the more hopeful tones of spring, Jeno notices a change. Jaemin becomes more reclusive- not entirely despondent, but certainly less lively than Jeno’s ever see him. He brings more books to school, and Jeno’s noticed that Jaemin will glance around a room when he enters, quickly opening his latest novel and returning his focus to it as soon as he spots Jeno. He doesn’t think much of it.

It’s a shame, though. Jeno misses the Jaemin he’s come to adore.

-

To be clear: Jeno is not a robot. Far from it, in fact. He’s about as emotional as anyone else, though he’s never been too outspoken about what he feels. He loves his best friend, Chenle, to death, and finds his heart of sunshine nicely balances out his own. He’s charismatic, inadvertently drawing his classmates Jeno’s way, as they’re essentially attached at the hip. Jeno’s grateful for the social interaction. He loves to talk, though he generally saves his ramblings for when he and Chenle are alone, or when it’s just the two of them and their childhood friend, Mark.

Chenle is, thus far, the only exception to his observing habits. He has been since the day he walked up to Jeno as a new student, grin unsure but there all the same, and asked for directions to the administrative office with broken sentences. Chenle is an extrovert at heart, and Jeno is happy he’s brought him along for the ride. He thinks that he and Mark would be in a similar situation, had Mark not been zoned for a separate high school than himself and Chenle. They text often, but the majority of Jeno’s time is spent with the friend he’s closest with, both physically and emotionally.

“I wonder what happened to Jaemin,” Jeno thinks aloud during one of many Friday night sleepovers.

Chenle looks up from the graphic novel they had been overanalyzing (“You mean to tell me that the responsibility of saving the city on a weekly basis doesn’t come with _any_ financial security or benefits?”) and frowns. “He’s been a little quieter lately, but it doesn’t seem all that worrisome. He’s still Jaemin.” When he sees Jeno’s nod of assent, he looks back down at the book. “There’s no way he knows how to wash that Spandex. The guy started a fire with a microwave last issue.”

Jeno snorts. “Maybe he just doesn’t wash it.” Chenle makes a disgusted noise and picks up his pillow to swing at Jeno’s face. Never one to back down from a challenge, he raises his own and declares war.

What feels like hours later, Jeno collapses next to a panting Chenle and says, “I have a crush on Na Jaemin.”

“I’m glad.”

When Jeno turns his head to look at his breathless best friend, the question must be evident on his face. Chenle’s smile returns. “He makes you happy. That makes me happy. I’ll still beat his face in if he ever does anything to hurt you, but I’ve seen the way you look at him. It’s like,” he waves his hands vaguely, as if trying to visibly describe the words he’s looking for, “he’s the answer. To whatever question it is you’re asking.”

Jeno wraps his arms around his best friend’s waist and wonders what he’s done to deserve someone like Chenle, whose every word is dripping with kindness and candor.

-

When Renjun, a friend of Chenle’s, invites Jeno to the arcade with a small group of their shared classmates, he wants to decline. Arcades are full of flashing lights and machines that eat quarters, and Jeno has always preferred gaming from the comfort of his own home. However, Renjun asks with such genuine hope (as far as Jeno has observed, Renjun is a person with many acquaintances but few close friends, and must be looking to change that) that he’s compelled to agree.

The arcade is surprisingly clean. Each arcade cabinet seems polished and new, with the exception of some retro consoles that are made to make the user feel as if they’re standing in the original decade. The food is greasy, as arcade food is obligated to be, and there are at least a half-dozen change machines littered throughout the building. Renjun’s eyes are as big as saucers as he drags a boy from the grade above Jeno- Yuta, he thinks his name is- towards the two-player Dance Dance Revolution configuration.

Mark is here, too, as is Chenle and a few students Jeno recognizes from his mixed-grade classes but can’t affix names to. Mark stands next to an attractive boy ever so slightly shorter than he is, who’s looking around with wonder and gripping Mark’s hand. Jeno decides to make his way over.

“Hey,” he greets his old friend, launching into the handshake they made up together when they were closer and they could still count their ages on their fingers. They laugh together and, for a moment, nothing has changed. Really, not much has. Mark is the kind of person you can not see for years and jump right back into things when you do reunite. Mark’s companion looks on with amusement and slight confusion.

Once their laughter has subsided somewhat, Jeno turns to the other boy, offers his hand and a smile. He’s passed this boy in the hallways, but Jeno is on the advanced track and has never spoken to him. He’s not in his lunch period, either. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jeno, Mark’s friend.”

His smile is met with another, this one nearly blinding (why does Jeno seem to gravitate towards people with beautiful smiles?), and a hand shaking his own. “I’m Donghyuck, this loser’s boyfriend.” Mark squawks out a protest. “Adorable loser. Nice to meet you, too, Je-” Donghyuck freezes, hand still on Jeno’s.

After a few seconds of watching Donghyuck’s frozen figure, Jeno tentatively asks if he’s alright.

“Jeno,” Donghyuck whispers, not answering the question. “Jeno as in Lee Jeno?” When Jeno nods his confirmation, the boy turns to Mark with flaming eyes. “You mean to tell me you know Lee Jeno well enough to have a _flipping handshake_ and never told me?”

Mark, clearly bewildered, holds his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t think it mattered?”

“You didn’t think it- You- Of course you didn’t! I have to do everything myself.” Donghyuck releases Mark’s hand from his left and grips Jeno’s tighter with his right, dragging Jeno into the corner of the arcade.

“Did I- did I do something wrong?” Donghyuck, as far as Jeno has ascertained, has quite a flair from the dramatic, instiling it in his daily life at any given opportunity. He’s seen him with Jaemin and a boy named Jisung in the halls, and he always seems to be gesturing energetically and speaking with wild inflection. This is clearly one of those times, and Jeno doesn’t feel he has the ability to survive this compressed ball of energy.

“No,” Donghyuck sighs, running a hand through his hair. His fingertips barely skim it. Jeno is sure there’s a scene from some drama running through the boy’s head. “I just, my friend, you know.”

“I don’t know.” He doesn’t.

“My friend, his name is Jaemin- do you know Jaemin?” Jeno nods. “He’s got, just, the most ridiculous, pathetic crush on you, and he’s trying to become this quiet, introspective bookworm type to impress you and it’s just not working, because brooding book people don’t read comic books and, also, have you seen him? He’s the definition of a free spirit, and that’s coming from me.” Donghyuck gasps for air.

Jeno blinks.

“Look, the point is, can you, like, date him or talk to him or something? Preferably the first one, but don’t do that if you don’t like him like that, because that would be a jerk thing to do and I might have to kill you. You don’t happen to,” another large gulp of air, “ _Do_ you like him like that?”

Jeno offers a assuaging smile. Donghyuck is clearly a sweet person, however theatrical he may be. It’s obvious how much he cares for his friends. “I do.” No point in lying about his attraction to Jaemin, especially now that he knows the version he fell for is only gone temporarily.

Donghyuck doesn’t bother to hide his surprise. “You do?” He pauses, then his beam returns full-force. “Perfect! You plan to do something about it?”

“I do now.”

“Awesome. Be nice to him, ‘kay? He’s the best thing that’ll ever happen to you. But,” Donghyuck gives Jeno a conspiratory smirk. “You have my express permission to tease him a little, make him squirm.”

Jeno doesn’t know if he’ll take Donghyuck up on that, and is about to say so, but the other boy becomes distracted by something over his shoulder. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mumbles, then races away. Jeno watches as he stops immediately in front of Chenle and starts to go off on another exaggerated tangent.

“I like your boyfriend,” he calls to Mark, whose eyes have followed Donghyuck from Jeno to Chenle, where Jeno’s best friend and the aforementioned boyfriend seem to be having a subconscious smile battle.

Mark sends Jeno a thumbs-up.

-

The following Monday, as the final school bell rings, Jeno gathers his things as quickly as possible. Chenle never arrived in the morning, claiming a devastating fever. Jeno hadn’t questioned this when he’d been told, as his best friend would never say such a thing without good reason, but Chenle is a terrible liar.

Rushing out of the school building and into the courtyard, Jeno takes his usual spot on a bench by some bushes, though he’s not there to people-watch as he usually is. This time, he’s on a mission.

His quest appears in the form of Na Jaemin exiting the school, smile tired but ever-present. Donghyuck is by his side, no doubt telling another anecdote. He catches Jeno’s eye, then nods before saying something to Jaemin and running back inside. Jisung is inexplicably absent.

Once Jaemin is alone, not counting the students milling about around him, Jeno stands. He’s not nervous, because why would he be? Donghyuck, extravagant as he is, would never make up a fake attraction that affects his friend to fuel his own need for drama. Jaemin likes him, and he likes Jaemin, and the sooner they can acknowledge this, the happier they’ll both be. With these thoughts swimming around in his mind, he walks toward his crush.

When Jaemin looks up and sees him, he’s visibly startled. He immediately opens his hands strangely and stares at his palms, flushing when he realizes his book isn’t there, likely stuffed in his forest green backpack instead. Jeno laughs softly, waving as he approaches. Jaemin hesitantly waves back.

“Hi, Jaemin.” Jeno breaks the silence first. “I’m Jeno, we’ve been classmates for quite a while.” He may have decided to take Donghyuck up on his permission to prolong this encounter. Sometimes taking the quickest route isn’t the best or most fun, and, in this situation, Jeno allows himself to have an experience rather than just speak and watch the other’s reaction.

Jaemin’s mouth opens and closes. With that expression paired with his new (likely fake, but adorable) glasses, he looks like an odd sort of fish. “I… know who you are.” He shakes his head rapidly. “Sorry. That was weird. Hi.” Jeno sees the beginnings of his trademark smile, but the poor boy seems too shocked to carry it to completion. “Need something?”

“In a sense. Well, two things.” Jaemin tilts his head, but nods. “First, I wanted to make sure you were alright? You’ve been very muted lately, both in your personality and your voice. I sort of miss the old you.” Of course he knows that Jaemin is alright, but Jeno can’t betray Donghyuck like that. It would shift the focus of the conversation.

Jaemin’s ears go red. “You miss me?”

“Well, yes. You always made my day worlds brighter when I looked at you, and, even though you still do,” Jeno pauses until Jaemin stops vibrating. “Even though you still do, I do wonder where that smile’s gone.”

“I can!” Jaemin exclaims. “I can bring that back, if you really want.”

Jeno smiles once more. “I’d like that.”

They stand like that for a moment, a comfortable distance from each other, soft smiles on their faces, before Jaemin asks, “And?”

“And?”

“You said there were two things?”

“Right! Yes. Thanks. I was wondering if you wanted to go for coffee sometime?”

Jaemin frowns. “I don’t like coffee.” It’s Jeno’s turn to flush this time, but, before he can modify his proposition, he hears, “But I have two season passes to the local theme park, if you’re interested.”

Jeno pauses, considering. A theme park is a world of action, with little room for thought beyond the direction in which you are walking and the amount of money in your pocket. It’s far from his location of choice, a quaint, calm place well-suited for people watching. It’s hardly a place he thinks he’d enjoy.

Then he stops. Why is he at all hesitant in the first place?

Jeno looks up at Jaemin, a radiant whirlwind who, despite having spent the last short while pretending to be contained, is now in front of him in all of his brilliant glory, and says, “Of course.”

-

Between rides and cotton candy stalls and Jaemin Jaemin _Jaemin,_ Jeno finds that living in the moment rather than watching it occur is less of a missed chance and more of an opportunity cost. He thinks that, although there’s nothing wrong with choosing to observe sometimes, losing the chance to look on is a forgivable expense, because no amount of seeing Jaemin could ever help him truly know the boy laughing by his side on the tilt-a-whirl. He’s not in love with Jaemin. It’s far too early for that. He is, however, in love with the world Jaemin has shown him.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to write this in a different style from my Hyuck-perspective fics because they're very different characters here, but idk how well I pulled that off, so please let me know if that came across and whether or not you enjoyed! I had a ton of fun writing this one and I hope you liked reading it. feedback of any kind is much appreciated and I hope to see you next time!
> 
> (p.s. I really love the concept of opportunity cost I learned about it in class last year and it's just. the coolest way to describe stuff and it's true and I love it and absolutely no one else cares about opportunity cost lmao)


End file.
